30 October,2022 08:09 AM IST | Mumbai | Aastha Atray Banan
Janhvi Jethwani, 19, and Arshiya Sridhar, 20, both support each other in their choice of “minimalist” dressing, which they say empowers them. Pics/M Fahim
Every '90s kid worth their salt remembers the pop remix number Kaanta Laga, and actress Shefali Jariwala gyrating, as her blue thong peeped out from her low-waist denims. In 2022, that kind of dressing, where the look is incorporated in cutout pants, has been christened "naked dressing" - popularised by the teen drama Euphoria, where high school girls are seen dressing up in barely-there clothes. Internationally, Balmain, Prabal Gurung, Alexander McQueen, Stella McCartney have all paid homage to skin in the most unusual ways - some with dresses that sport butt cutouts. Closer home, at a recently concluded fashion week, designer Nikita Mhaisalkar dressed her showstopper Alaya F in a greenish mini dress, with rib cutouts that started below the breastline and extended all the way to the hip. India's most favourite fashion influencer Komal Pandey is not far behind.
From sheer lace that could be worn braless, bandage wraps that show off the belly button, and sheer pants with lacey panties that draw attention to the butt cheek, the trend is all over, and it's asking you to notice it.
At a recent visit to a Bandra college, this writer saw students wearing cutout pants that are being sold by the dozen at Lokhandwala and Hill Road shops, and even as part of high-street brands.
For friends, and business and psychology students Janhvi Jethwani and Arshiya Sridhar, 19 and 20 years old respectively, it's the American TV shows and supermodel Kendall Jenner who inspired them to join the bandwagon. "I think fashion is the way you explore yourself - how you dress, is how you feel. When I feel bold and confident, this is how I dress. If I wear low-waist jeans now, it's because I am more confident. I also do feel that women are prone to covering up certain parts of their body, because they have been told it's inappropriate. This is my way of saying that your opinions don't control us," says Jethwani, who studies at Pune's Flame University.
The two friends prop each other up, supporting each other's "minimalist" choice of dressing. "We are confident because of the people who surround us," says Sridhar, adding that their college doesn't intervene in how the students dress.
"No one should give a sh't about what you wear, because it is your decision and you only live once," says Ansuya Salla, a 19-year-old, starting her first year at college this academic year. It was earlier this year when she watched Euphoria, and began to experiment with halter necks and deep neck cuts - something she never wore before. "I started to like it and I believe that if something makes you feel confident, beautiful and powerful, then you should wear it," she says. Salla's parents are supportive of her choices: "They tell me that if I have the body for it, I should experiment with clothes. With age, this body won't last." Much like fashion.
Freelance fashion stylist and brand consultant Vinita Makhija reminds us that it was Julia Roberts' iconic blue and white dress from Pretty Woman (1990) that started it all. "This trend goes back to the late 1980s. We all know fashion is cyclical, and we are witnessing a return of it." She also feels that the naked dressing trend is a post-pandemic euphoric rush. "It's much like the 1920s opulence era that came after the Spanish influenza. We were locked in, living out almost two years in pyjamas. It's a literal shedding of those layers."
Designer Shruti Sancheti agrees. She says that post pandemic, most people just want to feel free in their own skin. "It's about fitness and flaunting the body, but it's also about body positivity. Now there is no stigma attached to wearing something like this. I get many women who come in and they want the sheer pants, which go with a bustier and a sheer blazer," says Sancheti, adding, "These days, we also find support in the right kind of underwear and inner wear that is available. It makes women feel confident about following this trend." Their views are reflected in numbers. According to Alexandra Van Houtte, the founder of Tagwalk, a search engine for fashion, who was quoted in a piece online, "there were 333 per cent more low-waist skirts and 78 per cent more low-waist pants on the spring 2023 runways, with more than 15 per cent more visible lingerie and more than 10 per cent more transparent clothing."
For actress Teena Singh, who recently wore Sancheti's sheer pant suit to a Diwali party, the trend is about being sexy, and as she candidly says, "vanity". "I work really hard to look like this. We live in self-obsessed times, and this kind of dressing elevates that. I am okay with looking at the mirror and liking what I see. I am drawn to things that celebrate the sensual side of a woman, and this trend surely does that. The best part about wearing it now - there is less shame around it, and thank god for that."
With the access to finding your own fashion hood merely a few clicks away, creative director Kushal Parmanand, says, it's natural to draw power from this information. "It has led women across all sizes, shapes and colours to own their bodies more freely through risqué fashion - not for anyone else, but themselves."
Inputs from Nidhi Lodaya
